Finished! 1/48 Bird Cage F4U-1, Sullivan GB

Started by Eric Berg · 118 · 1 year ago · Aviation, Birdcage Corsair, F4U, F4U-1, Jim Sullivan Group Build, Tamiya
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    Eric Berg said 1 year, 4 months ago:

    Thanks for the info about the interior dark green, TC @tcinla. Too late now to change it but XF-4 looks a lot darker than the photos show.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 4 months ago:

    Great job so far, my friend @eb801!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 4 months ago:

    Preperation looks perfect, Eric @eb801

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    gary sausmikat said 1 year, 4 months ago:

    Looking good, Eric. Looks like your close to major assembly work. Keep 'er going

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    Louis Gardner said 1 year, 4 months ago:

    Eric Berg (@eb801)
    Indeed it looks like you are ready to start gluing the big parts together. It looks really good !

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    Eric Berg said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Gluing the Big Parts
    Back on the job after a week of family events. You can see the progress I made in these photos:


    Above: fuselage and cockpit all buttoned up.

    Above: Here's how the front office looks installed.

    Above: Stabilizer closeup. Resin by Aires.

    Above: And now the wings have been attached. Surprisingly, very good fit.

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    gary sausmikat said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Looking good and progressing nicely, Eric. Keep 'er going!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Some great extra work done, Eric @eb801
    You are correct about the wings, I can confirm from my build that they do fit very nicely.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Excellent progress, my friend @eb801!

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    Eric Berg said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Superb Corsair Reference Magazine
    Changing the subject just a bit, I used to subscribe to Flight Journal Magazine which is still around. Back in 2004 they published a special F4U Corsair issue which is a worthy companion to any Dana Bell or Bert Kinzey reference book. Chock full of articles written by former Corsair pilots, Great vintage photos as well as current ones by John Dibbs. Lots of Tom Tullis profiles, cockpit photos, book and movie reviews that feature F4Us. There's even a page praising Tamiya Corsair models. This issue is well worth obtaining and you can find it on Ebay dirt cheap. Or try Flight Journal online. Highly recommended. Here's a couple of sample pages:



    Meanwhile...

    There are some pretty nasty ejector marks on the the landing gear that are clearly visible. These need to be cleaned up. I plan on adding brake lines from stretched sprue.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    An amazing magazine, Eric @eb801, very helpful.
    Those nasty ejector pins, after some treatment it will look nice, especially with the brake lines added.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Great reference, my friend @eb801! Indeed, some noticeable pin marks.

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    Louis Gardner said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Eric Berg (@eb801)
    You're absolutely correct about that book. I have it and another one like it for the Hellcat. I think they made one for the Bf-109 and others too.
    The ejector pin marks are one of the main problems with these Tamiya kits. I usually try to sand them away to make them look round. Using filler like you have is a much better option though.

    I'm definitely looking forward to your next installment.

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    Eric Berg said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Louis @lgardner: I also have Flight Journal’s Hellcat special issue as well as the titles “B-17 Flying Fortress”, “P-40 Warhawk”, “German Fighters” and “Spitfire”. All worthy reference magazines.

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    Eric Berg said 1 year, 3 months ago:

    Cowls
    TC @tcinla, Louis @lgardner, and John@johnb

    Since Tamiya doesn't provide a complete "flaps open all around" cowling, then technically one cannot model an early F4U-1 and I can't model H100. So what to do now that I went ahead and glued the kit cowling in place? Choose different markings and go with a later model or just live with it. Or add a couple of pieces Evergreen to make those missing flaps but it may be too late for that without botching things up. Suggestions welcome.
    Here's that photo again: